


He Must Become Something Else

by asmaanixx



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Gen, Internal musings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-08
Updated: 2014-12-08
Packaged: 2018-02-28 15:26:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2737706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asmaanixx/pseuds/asmaanixx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Internal Musings of Oliver Queen after he arrives back from the island and is peering outside of the hospital window.</p>
            </blockquote>





	He Must Become Something Else

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place merely minutes into the pilot. Although he might have formulated the plan to become the Arrow long before he arrived back to Starling City, this is how I think he might have resolved it in his internal reflection upon coming back. Also, it appears disconnected to me, but I just left it as it is Oliver's internal thoughts and generally there is no clear connection between one thought to the next.
> 
> As always, comments are greatly appreciated. :)

It has been five years and sixty-one days since he was departed from Starling City. Five years and sixty-one days since he was last in touch with humanity. Sure he was around humans, but they were merely there in the flesh. Cold bodies that were moving around with a purpose catered towards themselves only. He had learned very quickly that if he was to survive he had to leave qualities that he honored most: civility, compassion, kindness, and trust. All that mattered was the conviction and strong resolution to outsmart the dangers lurking around him and to survive. At any and all costs.

Looking outside the glass hospital window, he can’t help but feel like a stranger. All this… the city lights, the cheerful laughter, the mass of people... it’s all so alien to him. His years away have taught him how superficial it all is. The extravagant parties, the lavish dinners, the high-class statuses that people spend their whole lives trying to achieve. It’s all unnecessary for independent survival. All you need is certain skills and the right motivation to protect your own life.

Oliver tries to catch hold of his reflection onto the glass window but fails. He contemplates on what it means on the person he is planning to become. He knows for certain that he has come back to Starling City to right the wrongs his father committed. He needs to purge the city of his sins but he can’t do that as Oliver Queen. Oliver Queen was a playboy billionaire and that’s who he’s going to be. He simply can’t afford to have people suspect him of killing highly corrupted influential people. He needs to divert their attention with a ruse. With the identity that he had crafted himself during his time away. An identity that has become so integral to his character that he simply cannot see himself as existing without it.

As he tries to capture his reflection, the more it goes away. A reminder, he guesses, of how he can’t be Oliver Queen. A reminder to fulfill his father’s dying wish – to use the list of names he left him and bring down those who are poisoning his city. To do this, he must become someone else. He must become something else.


End file.
